Shift

Chapter One

I hurried down the stairs, slinging on a light jacket and throwing my chocolate brown hair into a very messy bun. When I hit the floor, I went straight to my mud stained tennis shoes and snatched them from their place by the front door.

"Lily, is that you?" my dad called from his office.

"Yeah," I called back to him while simultaneously sliding on my shoes, the laces already tied.

"Are you heading out?"

"Just for a run."

Dad stuck his head around the corner of the entryway, his grey eyes narrowed. "Have you got your phone?"

I held it up for him to see.

He seemed satisfied. "Good." He rubbed his head uncomfortably, like he wanted to say something else, but didn't know what. "Well, have fun, kiddo. I gotta get back to this paperwork." He disappeared again, back to his work. My dad wasn't a workaholic, but he definitely worked a lot. He was a police officer and a single parent, so he did what he had to and I respected that, even if it meant I didn't see him very often.

"Love you, Dad!" I called out as I slipped out the door.

"Love you too!" I heard him answer.

I slammed the door behind me and stepped off the porch, shivering in the frigid December air. It wasn't snowy, but there was a thin layer of frost on everything and I could see my breath. I zipped up my jacket and started jogging.

Running was my thing. I didn't do any sports, so it was my way to stay active. It was also my stress reliever and when I needed it, my way to think through things.

My favorite place to run was a hidden path in the forest behind my neighborhood. I could reach it by slipping between two houses at the end of my street and crossing a small ditch. My feet veered there automatically and I picked up the pace, eager to run.

When I got to the ditch, I paused. I had a strange feeling, like I was being watched.

I scanned the trees, looking for movement. The feeling was growing and I almost felt like there was something right in front of me. Some branches wiggled and I started backing up slowly, my heart racing a hundred miles per hour.

I almost turned back.

A bird suddenly jumped out of the brush and I gasped, falling backwards into the mud. The bird flew away, its wings flapping madly.

"Stupid bird," I muttered, embarrassed that it had scared me. I stood up, brushed the dirt off my pants, and crossed the ditch without looking back. Of course there wasn't anyone watching me. No one knew about this path but me.

When my feet hit the path, the incident left my mind and I started running again. I ran for what seemed like only a short time, thinking about the hundreds of things I had to do before winter break started this week and admiring the winter scenery around me.

When I finally stopped, I was gasping for breath and dehydrated. I looked around, studying my surroundings. There was nothing but fir trees and blackberry bushes as far as I could see. I groaned. I hadn't meant to run this far. I was miles from home and didn't have the energy to get back. I took out my phone, thinking I could maybe meet my dad somewhere and he could pick me up, but I had no service. "Great," I whined.

Someone laughed. It was a chilling, deep-throated man's laugh.

The hair all over my body stood up and my blood turned to pure ice. I stood unmoving, listening. "Who's there?" My voice came out shaky and hoarse. It didn't even sound like mine.